Editing Reversi (section)

=== ''Othello'' ===
[[File:Othello (Reversi) board.jpg|thumb|A modern plastic ''Othello'' set]]
The modern version of the game—the most regularly used rule-set, and the one used in international tournaments—is marketed and recognized as {{nihongo|''Othello''|オセロ|osero}}. It was patented in Japan in 1971 by [[Goro Hasegawa (game designer)|Goro Hasegawa]] (legal name: Satoshi Hasegawa), then a 38-year-old salesman.<ref>See Japan Utility Patent Application numbers S46-001435 (JP,1971-001435) and number S47-135869 (JP,1972-135869), available via https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/web/all/top/BTmTopEnglishPage</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=11 November 1976 |title=Modern Living: Japanese Othello |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,914702,00.html |magazine=Time |access-date=28 May 2016}}</ref> Hasegawa initially explained that ''Othello'' was an improvement on reversi,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hasegawa |first=Goro |date=December 1973 |title=A generation of making popular "Othello" games |journal=Gendai |language=ja |publisher=[[Kodansha]] |volume=7 |issue=12 |pages=147–151 |doi=10.11501/3367321}}</ref> but from around 2000, he began to claim that he invented it in [[Mito, Ibaraki|Mito]] regardless of reversi.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hasegawa |first=Goro |title=The Tale of One Hundreds of Othello - Famous players who decorated the history of Othello |date=December 2005 |publisher=[[Kawade Shobō Shinsha]] |isbn=9784309906553 |language=ja}}</ref> Hasegawa also claimed that the origin of reversi/''Othello'' dates back 5,000 years.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hasegawa |first=Goro |title=How to Othello |year=1981 |page=136 |language=ja}}</ref>

Hasegawa established the Japan Othello Association in March 1973, and held the first national ''Othello'' championship on 4 April 1973 in Japan.<ref>The Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Page 24, 20 March 1973</ref> The Japanese game company Tsukuda Original launched ''Othello'' in late April 1973 in Japan under Hasegawa's license, which led to an immediate commercial success.<ref name="FFOhistory">{{Cite web |title=140 years of history |url=https://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ffothello.org%2Fjeu%2Fhistorique.php&langpair=fr%7cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8 |access-date=4 January 2015}}</ref><ref>Pages 147–151 of The December issue of GENDAI, published by Kodansha on 1 December 1973. Viewed at National Diet Library of Japan</ref><ref>Pages 110–113 August 25 issue of Yomiuri Weekly, published by Yomiuri Shimbun on 25 August 1973. Viewed at National Diet Library of Japan</ref><ref>Page 23 of Vol.77, No.1811 of JITSUGYO NO NIHON published by Jitsugyo no Nihon Sha, Ltd. on 1 March 1974. Viewed at National Diet Library of Japan</ref><ref name=":0">Pages 276–281 December issue of The Ushio published by Ushio Publishing Co., Ltd., on 1 December 1974. Viewed at National Diet Library of Japan</ref>

The name was selected by Hasegawa<ref name=":0" /> as a reference to the [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]an play ''[[Othello]], the Moor of Venice'', referring to the conflict between the [[Moors|Moor]] [[Othello (character)|Othello]] and [[Iago]], and to the unfolding drama between Othello, who is black, and [[Desdemona (Othello)|Desdemona]], who is white. The green color of the board is inspired by the image of the general Othello, valiantly leading his battle in a green field. It can also be likened to a [[jealousy]] competition (jealousy being the central theme in Shakespeare's play, which popularized the term "green-eyed monster"), since players engulf the pieces of the opponent, thereby turning them to their possession.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=22 November 1976 |title=Japanese Othello |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,914702,00.html |url-status=dead |magazine=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103082837/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,914702,00.html |archive-date=3 November 2007}}</ref>

''Othello'' was first launched in the U.S. in 1975 by Gabriel Industries and it also enjoyed commercial success there. Sales have reportedly exceeded $600&nbsp;million. More than 40 million classic games have been sold in over 100 countries.

Hasegawa's ''How to play Othello (Osero No Uchikata)'' in Japan in 1974, was published in 1977 in an English translation entitled ''How to Win at Othello''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hasegawa |first=Goro |url=https://archive.org/details/howtowinatothell00hase |title=HOW TO WIN AT OTHELLO |publisher=A Harvest / HBJ Book |year=1977 |isbn=978-0156422154 |location=U.S. |url-access=registration}}</ref>

Kabushiki Kaisha Othello, which was owned by Hasegawa, registered the trademark "OTHELLO" for board games in Japan; Tsukuda Original registered the trademark in the rest of the world. All intellectual property regarding ''Othello'' outside Japan is now owned by MegaHouse, the Japanese toy company that acquired Tsukuda Original's successor PalBox.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MegaHouse and Co. Pal box signed a transfer agreement part of the business (translated by Google translation) |url=http://www.bandai.co.jp/releases/J2005022101.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923095654/http://www.bandai.co.jp/releases/J2005022101.html |archive-date=23 September 2015 |access-date=11 September 2015}}</ref>